HRM
Introduction Increasing range and complexity of technological developments employed in various industries has had dramatic implications on professional and even personal lives for many employees, along with impacting organisational culture. This article aims to assess the complexity of the technology employed in the industry as the prime cause of alienation in the workplace. The article starts with discussion of Marx’s Theory of Alienation followed by Blauner’s Theory of Technology and Alienation. Moreover, the article addresses a set of other relevant theoretical frameworks and approaches such as Nichools and Beynon’s (1977) criticism of Blauner and a brief analyses of studies conducted by Gallie (1978) and Zuboff (1988). It has been stated that “in the workplace the feeling of alienation mean that the individual has lost control over the process of production” (Sharma, 1998, p.22). Generally, alienation can be defined as “the feeling of being powerless to control one’s own destiny; a worker’s feeling of powerlessness caused by inability to control the work process” (Kronblum, 2011, p.474) and alienation is justly considered as an important issue from sociological viewpoint. Marx’s Theory of Alienation in the Workplace Marx specifies four types of alienation – alienation between worker and the work, alienation between workers, alienation of worker from the product, and alienation of worker from the process of work. Famously, Marx blames capitalism for the emergence of all of above types of alienation. It has to be noted that certain aspects of Marxist ideology including Theory of Alienation has been challenged from within communists by some philosophers such as Milovan Djilas, whereas different group communist philosophers such as Louis Pierre Althusser voiced against initiatives directed towards revising theoretical foundations of Marxism (Rehmann, 2013). Assessment of the impact of technology on the emergence of each of these types of alienation increases depth of this discussion. Specifically, with…
There are differences amongst employees in multiple levels and these differences do affect learning styles and capabilities of employees. This argument can be illustrated more effectively with the application of Honey and Mumford (1982) learning styles. According to this model learning can be divided into four different groups on the basis of individual preferences or styles: activists, theorists, pragmatists and reflectors. Activists include specific type of individuals who best learn by doing. Theorists, on the other hand, attempt to understand theoretical frameworks and they like to analyse core ideas behind the phenomenon to be learned. Pragmatists tend to be highly practical individuals, and accordingly unlike theorists pragmatists are interested in application of knowledge in real-life environment. Reflectors are observers who prefer to adopt a holistic approach towards the subject of learning. The model of Honey and Mumford learning styles has important practical implications in organisational settings. Senior level managers need to identify learning styles of key employees in order to be able to facilitate their learning more effectively. For example, employees with theorist learning style need to be assigned with tasks of analytical nature. Alternatively, individuals with advanced pragmatist learning styles need to be appointed in positions where problem-solving skills are prioritised. However, it has to be acknowledged that identification of learning styles of each individual employee is a challenging task and therefore this strategy needs to be applied only in relation to key members of the workforce. References Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (1982) “Manual of Learning Styles” London
Employee motivation tools can be divided into two categories: tangible and intangible. Salary and monetary bonuses is the main form of tangible motivation tools, whereas intangible motivation tools include sense of contributing to a great cause, recognition of employee performance by managers in verbal and written ways, celebrations of group and individual achievements etc. Both, tangible and intangible tools of motivation are going to be used in relations with chefs and sales assistant before and during the International Food Event. Tangible motivational tools offered to staff include financial compensation of £8 per hour. A set of intangible motivational tools to be used in this event include verbal encouragement of staff at all stages of the event, explanation of contribution of the event in terms of increasing the levels of cross-cultural awareness, and contributing to good cause as the profit to be made from the sale of food and ingredients are to be donated to the selected charity. Moreover, application of Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959) assists in explaining staff and volunteer motivation practices in International Food Event. Two-Factor Theory makes a clear distinction between hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors include salaries, adequate working conditions, appropriate management-employee relationships, acceptable levels of work-life balance etc. Hygiene factors are expected by employees to be in place and their presence may prevent dissatisfaction amongst employees. However, the presence of hygiene factors is not sufficient for employee motivation and employee motivation can only be achieved through the application of motivator factors. Accordingly, motivator factors to be applied in International Food Event include creating challenging, yet rewarding working environment, recognition of contribution of chefs, encouraging the sense of personal achievement due to the participation in the event etc. Alternatively, the issues of motivation at the event can be explained using the framework of Theory X and…
The difference employee recruitment and selection needs to be specified in an appropriate manner. Recruitment can be defined as “the process of confirming the need to employ fresh staff, locating where potential recruits exist and attracting appropriate application for employment” (Akwetey, 2011, p.18). In simple terms, employee recruitment is Recruitment process of staff and volunteers is going to comprise the following five stages: Stage One: Recruitment Planning The first stage in recruitment process relates to identification of skills requirements and clarification of numbers of staff and volunteers needed. Six cuisines – Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, English and Indian cuisines are going to be represented at the event, and accordingly one chef needs to be employed for each cuisine. There is a vacancy for a member of staff to sell food and ingredients for each cuisine during the event. Moreover, all five group members are going to participate as volunteers and additional volunteers are also welcomed. Stage Two: Identification of Recruitment Sources Generally, recruitment sources can be internal and external (Werner et al., 2012). Internal source of recruitment relates to finding candidates within the company, whereas external source of recruitment relates to recruitment of individuals outside of the organisation. Internal source is going to be explored for recruitment and potential members of staff will be sought amongst second and third year students within the University. Stage Three: Candidate Generation Petition is planned to be launched on Facebook social networking website and applications are going to be attracted from candidates amongst second and third year students studying in University. Dedicated Facebook page is going to explain job specification and candidate requirements for chefs such as cooking experience of at least three years, being passionate about food, possessing advanced communication and interpersonal skills etc. in a detailed manner. Job requirements for…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM
Major tendencies in the 21st century such as intensifying levels of globalisation, increasing levels of multiculturalism in workplaces, increasing threats of international terrorism, rapid innovations in information technology and others have direct and indirect implications on various processes in society, and their analysis from sociological viewpoint is necessary in order to assess these implications in a holistic manner. Changes in the nature of work include increasing level of informality of organisational culture, increasing popularity of alternative working patterns and decline of popularity of lifelong employment for a single organisation have great potential to contribute to human well-being in various levels. Theoretical perspectives to sociology can be divided into three categories: functionalism, conflict and interactionist. Benefits of changing nature of work to human well-being can be effectively explained through the lenses of each of these perspectives. Changing nature of work related to increasing popularity of alternative working patterns such as part-time, flexitime, telecommuting, job sharing and compressed workweek have a great potential to improve the levels of work-life balance for many people. Sociology studies rationale behind human behaviour, and from this perspective rationale behind increasing numbers of people preferring engagement in alternative working patterns can be explained as the willingness to improve the levels of their work-life balance. Businesses can reduce the levels of operational costs by adopting alternative working patterns and this relates to conflict perspective in sociology to a certain extent. In other words, the conflict perspective to sociology and related theories which are mainly derived from teachings of Karl Marx focus on competition between various groups for resources, as well as, power and influence. According to this approach, cost reduction by businesses achieved by adoption of alternative working patterns can be used as a source of competitive advantage to compete with other businesses in the global marketplace. Decline…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM
In simple terms, sociology can be defined as interaction between individuals and groups. Sociology is a broad area and encompasses a wide range of topics and issues such as culture, interactions between people, levels of inequality in a society, socialisation etc. and impact of all of these on human behaviour and thinking. This essay focuses on a narrow segment of sociology, which is explanation of changing nature of work through sociology. The approach to sociology can be divided into two groups: micro and macro. Micro-sociology focuses on study of behaviour in various situations in a daily life. Macro-sociology, on the other hand, has a broader scope and employed to explain the various aspects of broad social systems. Changing nature of work can be explained from both perspectives – micro-sociology and macro-sociology. From micro-sociology perspective, changes in the nature of work as described above have certain implications for employees in individual and personal levels such as possibility to achieve greater levels of work-life balance in multiple ways. Alternatively, from macro-sociology perspective, national and global implications of changes in the nature of work are assessed such as resulting changes in cultural values, competitive advantage to be gained by local producers due to cost reductions, and others. Relatively recently the notion of meso-sociology has also been introduced and this refers to “analysis of social phenomena in between the micro and macro levels” (Doda, 2005, p.17). Moreover, embracing of alternative working patterns is becoming a popular pattern of social behaviour. Distinctive features of this behaviour include extensive use of internet for a wide range of purposes and social mobility. Popular theoretical approaches to sociology include Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Post-Modernism, Theory of Rational Choice and others and each of these approaches is a broad topic on their own accounts. Nevertheless, assessment of implications of changing…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM
The last several decades have witnessed gradual and dramatic changes in the nature of work due to a number of reasons that include, but not limited to intensifying level of competition in marketplace, developments in information technology and other technological developments, increasing forces of globalisation and certain aspects of demographic changes. Increasing popularity of alternative working patterns such as part-time working, flexitime employment, telecommuting, job-sharing and compressed workweek marks the most important change in the nature of work in the 21st century. It has been estimated that “currently around 29 per cent of UK employees work part-time or in some other form of flexible working pattern” (Holbeche, 2013, p.58). Part-time working is not a new practice in modern times; however, the popularity of part-time employment has increased during the last couple of decades due to attempts to improve the levels of work-life balance and a set of other reasons discussed below in a greater details. Flexitime employment as a different version of alternative working patterns “specifies core hours when people must be on the job, with flexible starting and finishing times as long as required total hours are worked” (Swanepoel et al, 2008., p. 217 as taken from Bartol et al., 2008, p.413) Telecommuting, on the other hand, can be explained as “to work at home using a computer connected to the network of one’s employer” (Free Dictionary, online, 2014) and it offers the advantages of working from the comfort of home. Job sharing involves roles and responsibilities of a single position being assumed by two or more employees so that each employee has extra free time to devote to pushing hobbies, spending time with the family and other activities of their choice. Compressed workweek working pattern permits employees to complete required hours for the week in less than traditional…
Baldwin and Ford’s Transfer of Training Model (1988) is based on the idea that the transfer of learning depends on training inputs that include trainee characteristics, training design and work environment. However, an important point in the model is that the outcome of training is impacted by trainee characteristics and work environment in a direct manner, whereas the impact of training design depends on the levels of training outputs such as learning and retention. Baldwin and Ford’s Transfer of Training Model (1988) Source: Baldwin and Ford (1988) The Transfer of Training Model has made a valuable contribution on the study of training transfer. The main benefit of the model in practical levels can be explained in a way that it allows framework for evaluating the impact of each individual input factor in training and identify and utilise the potentials for improving the impact of elements associated with each individual factor. References Baldwin, T.T & Ford, J.K. (1988) “Transfer of training: A review and directions for future research” Personnel Psychology, 41 (65)
It has been justly stated that Human Resource Development (HRD) is becoming a unique philosophy in organisations and central to bringing about effective change. Intensifying levels of competition in the market has caused the profile of HRD to increase for organisations in both sectors, private, as well as, public. HRD can be defined as “the process by which corporate management stimulates the motivation of employees to perform productively” (Roussel, 2006, p.195). In simple terms HRD can be explained as a set of initiatives and programs introduced by organisations with the aims of equipping its members with necessary skills and competencies to be able to meet the demands of their jobs. HRD can have a substantial positive impact on the level of implementation of organisational changes, as well as, on the overall outcome of change initiatives. As it has been briefly mentioned above, this impact can be maximised by organising relevant employee training and development programs that aim to increase the level of knowledge of employees about the importance of change and teaching employees about the ways of dealing with the change. Employee training and development programs offer a range of significant benefits at various levels that include positive implications on the level of employee productivity, higher level of employee motivation and job satisfaction and improvement on the quality of work.
There is set of factors that effect team functioning. These factors include, but not limited to the nature of group norms, the level of cohesiveness, team leadership, rewards and others. Group norms resemble a code of conduct that specifies the extent of acceptable behaviour within the groups. As an important factor impacting team functioning, group norms need to be formulated in a clear and straightforward manner. Moreover, group members need to be communicated about penalties for deviating form group norms. Group cohesiveness can be explained as the level of attractiveness of the group to its members and is a major factor impacting group functioning. Managers need to be focusing on increasing the levels of cohesiveness through associating being group members with personal and professional growth, as well as, a range of tangible benefits. Moreover, leadership plays substantial role on the effectiveness of team functioning. Team leaders need to be able to command respect from team members and they need to be emotionally intelligent as well. Importantly, team leaders need to be able motivate each member of team in personal levels. Rewards associated with team performance can be listed as another important factor impacting team functioning. Rewards to team members need to comprise tangible elements such as financial compensation and various perks, as well as, intangible elements such as celebration of achievement, recognition of contribution of each individual team member in formal and informal ways. Failure to achieve the positive impact of the factors listed above may cause the formation of dysfunctional teams that are not well positioned to achieve organisational aims and objectives.